Car

By Philip L. Franckel, Esq. When buying insurance, most people ask for "full coverage" without knowing what they're asking for. What's the problem? There is no such thing as "full coverage". While understanding your coverage is important for everyone, it is vitally important if you're driving a Mercedes, BMW, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Porsche, Viper, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus, or Aston Martin. If you're driving an expensive, exotic or high-performance car, you will want to make sure that after an accident you receive OEM parts, OEM paint, the ability to repair your vehicle at the auto body shop of your choice, and the amount of money needed for the repair. Repairing an expensive car with non-OEM parts and/or improper workmanship will result in substantial diminished value. With expensive cars, even a proper repair will result in diminished value. What is diminished value? It is the lowered market value of a vehicle subsequent to repair. For instance, a...

By Theodore Olson The Internet has been touted as the greatest resource for the used car buyer. Prospective buyers can find trade-in, private party, and retail values in a heartbeat. The question to consider, however, is what Internet source is right? The three major sites: NADA, Edmunds, and Kelly Blue Book are clamoring to be the Trusted Authority on used car values. Yet price discrepancies are frequently in the $1000’s from site to site. Which web site, if any, is the most accurate source for the used car buyer? To illustrate the discrepancies, here’s an everyday example: NADA may retail a 2003 SAAB 9-5 Linear at $15,996, Kelly Blue Book prices it at $17,456, and Edmunds prices it at $14,800. These are all retail values, assuming excellent or clean condition. $17,456 minus $14,800 is a $2,656 difference. That’s a huge price difference in the highly competitive used car market. The retail values placed on many vehicles by these web sites can have even larger price differences - some ...